Vallée Pahiti

We had most of the day to spend before it was time to say goodbye to Huahine, but started our morning packing back up and preparing for our flight out in the late afternoon.

After a quick rain dance, we set out to find the trailhead for the Mount Tapo hike we had missed two days back. We had read a French website that indicated the trail is a sacred journey, and marked with a barricade, which we recalled as we biked past it and dismissed it as the hiking trail previously. It did rain lightly on the 5km walk to the trail, but not enough to dissuade us.

Taking the "entry forbidden" sign as more of a suggestion, we made our way up the switchback until we reached a cell tower. Squeezing through the small square opening, we found the second leg of the trail that marked a significant spike in difficulty. The next 0.4 miles had us scrambling up rocks, and focused on keeping our balance lest we answer the question of "can I achieve terminal velocity starting at this height?"

We did manage to reach the summit, and took a few moments to catch our breath and chug more water. Due to the light rain and thick foliage, our shoes and socks were mostly soaked, which made the descent even more challenging than the ascent. We were very thankful for the many trees along the path offering handholds as we made our way down, and the slip events were minimal (though we both had muddy butts from our efforts). All in all, the climb down was less scary than we expected, but we'd definitely categorize that hike as "advanced".

Unfortunately, we still had to hike the 5km back, and there was nothing to do but get to it. By the time we arrived back in town, we were ready for some hamburgers and beers at Izzy's, followed by a dip in the ocean to wash off the mud and sweat. The sun had come back out, so we relaxed on the beach until it was time to catch our flight to Bora-Bora. A quick 20m flight, and we're there. If the island of Huahine felt a little spartan, Bora-Bora (or 'BOB' as the airport is affectionately named) is anything but.

A speedboat whisked us off to the resort where we were greeted with sweet tea and oiled towels at check in. The hotel staff gave us a tour of the resort by golf cart, ending at our bungalow. They opened the door for the grand reveal... and the power was out. Our concierge was mortified, but we got a chuckle out of it. While they resolved the issue, we enjoyed the bottle of champagne they had waiting for us on our bungalow dock and watched the sun go down until it was time for dinner at 'The Reef' here at the resort.

Laura had some well-cooked squid, and I had a bowl of magnificent shrimp risotto. Before turning in, housekeeping dropped in, but we found our door entirely stuck shut. Laura and the housekeeper both had a laughing fit at the absurdity of the situation, and all my prior jokes about needing to swim to shore or another guest's bungalow got a second life. Maintenance resolved the issue, and we went to bed entertained and excited for tomorrow.Okumaya devam et